Fraudsters have become more likely to deceive Russians with a scheme of non-existent parcels

Fraud cases related to the erroneous receipt of non-existent parcels increased by 30%, according to VTB data, which was reviewed by Izvestia on March 14.

The attackers work as a team, where everyone has their own role. One introduces himself as an employee of the transport, postal or customs service and informs about the receipt of a parcel addressed to the victim. He also claims that it is urgently necessary to redeem and pay customs fees.

Then his accomplice pretends to be the "real recipient" of the parcel and convinces the victim not only to receive the parcel for him, but also to pay non-existent fees, threatening fines from customs and problems with law enforcement agencies. At the same time, the scammer promises to refund the money at the time of transfer of the parcel. As soon as a person transfers money for receiving a parcel to the specified account, both scammers disappear.

Alarm bells: Putin declared unacceptable scale of fraud in the Russian Federation

What measures do the Cabinet of Ministers and the Central Bank propose to protect citizens from cybercriminals?

"All their promises to return the money and threats of fines are nothing more than manipulation to extort money from a person. If you receive calls with similar stories, it is best to stop communicating and contact the official services to verify the information. Be attentive to suggestions that come from unfamiliar sources," said Dmitry Revyakin, VTB Vice President and Head of the Corporate Interests Protection Department of the Security Department.

Earlier, on March 12, it was reported that in 2024, Russians most often encountered fraudulent calls allegedly on behalf of bank security services. This was stated by 22.4% of respondents, according to the results of a survey conducted by RED Security. In addition, the attackers pretended to be representatives of telecom operators (21.7%) and law enforcement agencies (13.8%).